This invention relates to cable connectors, particularly but not exclusively, for interconnecting optical fiber cables on a circuit pack or module to optical fiber cables on an adjacent circuit pack or module.
In order to interconnect optical fiber cables of one circuit pack or module and optical fiber cables of another circuit pack typically intermediate optical patch cords are used.
One problem with the known technique is documentation must be provided to tell the installer which optical cables are to be interconnected.
Reading and understanding such installation instructions is time-consuming and, unless the installer is extremely careful, errors in interconnection can easily occur.
Additionally, the slack or unused portion of the patch cords gives rise to a storage problem and also increases optical path loss.
The invention overcomes these problems by eliminating the patch cord and an extra adapter. Each optical fiber cable is terminated with an optical connector on a pigtail leaving the module. The optical connector is secured to a body member which can be rotated away from the outer surface faceplate of the circuit pack for inspection, cleaning or repair. The body member is otherwise constrained to move along the outer surface of the circuit pack in a fixed path such that the connector of one module can mate through an adapter with a corresponding connector on another module.
Typically an adapter is used between the terminating means of the cable connector and the terminating means of another cable connector. In an alternative embodiment instead of the body member moving along the outer surface of the circuit pack, only the adapter moves to effect mating or unmating. In this case, the standard known adapter could not be used but a special adapter would have to be designed.
Instead of an arrangement involving a rotation of the body member, an alternate embodiment involves an arrangement whereby, when the optical connectors are disengaged, the body member can be translated away from the faceplate in a direction perpendicular to its surface for inspection, cleaning and repair of the secured optical connector, and whereby the body member is capable of being translated parallel to the outer surface of the faceplate to engage and disengage the connectors, when it is in substantial contact with the surface of the faceplate.
In this way only the desired connection between the two modules can be made. The installer needs no documentation to decide what to interconnect and cannot make errors in interconnection. Ease, speed and accuracy of installation are improved. Storage space of excess patch cord is eliminated and path loss is reduced.